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Meet the engineer who is into constructing poems, telling stories and winning hearts

A civil engineer turned storyteller, Sabarna Roy shows his profound understanding of dualism of human life

Sabarna Roy who scripted literary success in 2010 with the publication of Pentacles and touched the very core of his readers with realistic themes touching upon complex human relationships in the urban milieu of industrial society in a lucid and engaging style, has now come up with his new book titled Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020.

It is a celebration of emotions and a truly delectable reading experience. It is fresh and something out of the box, which will create an impression on avid readers.

Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 comprises a novella and a poem cycle. The novella is a sweetly evolving dialogue between a step-father and a step-daughter; in the foreground is a dissection of ideas pivoting around the dualism of human life by discussing literary characters like Lolita, Humbert Humbert, Anna Karenina and Nikhilesh; thought-leaders like Hegel, Marx, and Heisenberg; political phenomena like the Bolshevik Revolution; schizophrenia, love as an idea, and the secret love story of T S Eliot; and ecological phenomena like marine conservation. And all of this is done in a unique way, almost as if we are engaged in a conversation with the author, to make us realize the plurality of life and accepting it to find peace and harmony in life.

The poem cycle is an anthology of 20 sharp-edged poems that excite and thrill you as you are encapsulated in the whirlwind of the confrontation between the poet and his alter ego.

A civil engineer turned storyteller, Sabarna Roy shows his profound understanding of dualism of human life in Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020.

He uses a novellic manner of ideas for this purpose: through two letters -- Letter to a Step-daughter and A Letter to Suranjana.

The book looks like a journey of the protagonist in-scripted on the pages of life. The book is divided into different sections with different perspectives and the author has attempted to pen down poems and opinions to let the readers go deep into it. In Part A of the Duality section, the author is seen requesting her step-daughter for a cup of coffee and desserts which leads to the birth of Part C-- Nocturnal Conversations between a step-father and step-daughter over dessert and coffee. It proves, that the world is listening to you, all you need is to ask what you want.

The book carries some beautiful and delicious lines that would make you return to this book everyday just to find yourself in the musings of the sparkling poetic idiom. An excerpt from the book:

He would burn
But not turn to ashes
Burn forever
To resonate my hate

The author takes you on a poetic journey to get inside the dense fog scripted behind these lines.

There are letters, opinions, thoughts, discussions, and multiple poems covering multiple topics, which makes the book unique and captivating.

The book carries emotions that can be celebrated, and hated by the readers as well because of its realistic and dark observations. With every new page, there is a new story to read and a new perception to be built.

The book Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 concludes with Winter Poems 2020. It again traverses through manifold moods of human psyche in the light of very complex passages of human brain that make us commit follies, crimes and perhaps, other dark deeds. Now, talking about some of the poems in the poem cycle Winter Poems penned down by the author, it is thrilling and full of action, just like the year 2020. There are poems on Jallianwala Bagh, Dr. X, Sam Mendes, Death, and Civilisation.

An excerpt from winter Poems:

The sweet rush of death
The sounds of cymbals and drums
The roaring sounds of youth all over

The protagonist speaks about some harsh realities of today's generation and takes you along a zig-zag ride of self-introspection.

The winter poems would leave you with a warm heart and twinkling thoughts of reality.

The book tells us how we can take charge of our life by making some simple changes in our lives and how one healthy conversation can lead to multiple healthy conversations making their way to a harmonious life.

Certainly, in this time of Covid-19, certainly Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 deserves a place in your book shelf to explore a new genre of English literature.

Disclaimer: No Deccan Chronicle journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content.

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